171

A Liver Cleansing Diet Menu: Eat for Good Health

If you or a loved one have fatty liver disease, you may be interested in some dietary recommendations for foods that help cleanse your liver.

One thing that is very important for you to know is that good nutrition is critically important. Of course, it’s important to eat nutritious foods all of the time for the sake of your health, but it is especially vital if you have liver problems.

Check it out here.

What Can a Liver Cleanse Diet Do For You?

Anyone with a fatty liver would be well served by adhering to a diet specially aimed at promoting good health, to help this vital organ do its job properly.

Here are some of the benefits you may get from following a liver cleanse diet:

• Increased vitality
• Alleviate disease symptoms
• Improve liver function
• Let the liver rest and heal
• Weight loss
• Improve skin problems

Like anything else, you get out of it basically what you put into it. If you are faithful about following the dietary regime for good liver health, you should see wonderful results.

Tips For a Successful Liver Cleanse

• Keep liver-friendly snacks on hand, ready to eat. You might have carrot sticks, fresh apple slices or a similar snack. The main thing is to have your snacks at hand, so that you’ll be less likely to cheat on your diet by eating something you shouldn’t.

• Drink plenty of water. Besides helping to flush the toxins from your liver, it also makes you feel full so that it is easier to diet.

• Eat a diet high in fiber. This acts as a scrubber for your digestive system, which is healthy; as well as increases your feeling of fullness.

Menu Suggestions

There are those who swear by a juicing liver cleanse and others who vow that a low fat diet with plenty of olive oil will help heal your fatty liver. Ultimately, this decision will be up to you.

That being said, extreme diets such as all juice are extremely hard to maintain and stick to long enough to be effective. So, you may want to go with a less dramatic but more easily accomplished diet.

Here are some daily menu suggestions if you have fatty liver disease:

Breakfast – Stick with skim milk, whole grain toast with a bit of non-hydrogenated margarine, oats or oat cereal and fresh citrus juices. You can also have fresh fruit such as a banana or grapefruit. Plain yogurt with granola and berries is also a great choice. Have a cup of coffee … some latest research suggests this has a beneficial effect on the liver.

Lunch – You’ll want to go with whole grain breads and white meats (chicken or turkey) for sandwiches. Avoid cheese or heavily marbled meats such as corned beef. Vary it, so that if you had toast for breakfast, don’t have a sandwich for lunch. Home-made vegetable soup or a clear consommè is also good. You can have tossed salads, but use vinegar-based dressings – simple balsamic vinegar is best, as there is no added sugar. Dessert can be a nice piece of fresh fruit. Drink water with a twist of lemon juice.

Snacks – Salt-free nuts, carrot sticks, celery with natural peanut butter, fresh fruit, quality dark chocolate, graham crackers.

Dinner – Dinner can be a larger meal, but don’t go overboard. Stick with low fat meats or fish. If you bake chicken, don’t leave the skin on. Ditto for fish. Almost any veggies are fine, as long as they’re steamed, baked or roasted and not fried. A dinner roll is okay, but use whole wheat or whole grain. A potato as a side dish is fine a few days a week. Drink water or skim milk with your meal. Dessert might be a fresh piece of fruit, sugar free jello and fat free whipped topping.

Leave off the rich meat sauces or gravies. Don’t eat cakes and cookies made with refined flours and sugar. Eat more foods that are good for cleansing the liver.

You can vary your diet from day to day so you can be more comfortable sticking with it for weeks or months without eating the same foods over and over again. The idea is eating both in moderation and in smaller serving sizes to help you lose weight and not overtax your liver.

Remember these tips when on your liver diet:

• choose foods low in fat
• eat meals low in salt
• eat more fruit and vegetables
• avoid fast food
• avoid processed foods, soft drinks, and snacks high in sugar or salt

For a wonderfully comprehensive guide to eating the right foods to help halt or reverse fatty liver disease, you should definitely check out this one written by an RN with years of experience treating patients who have this condition.

When you have lost the proper amount of weight, and combined with exercise, you should see your liver functioning properly again. Always consult with your doctor while on this diet, and keep up with your new active lifestyle and eating healthy!